Documentation

Introduction

Schantt is a production scheduling software designed for flowshop manufacturing environments such as food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and textile industries. The software helps you create optimized production schedules that minimize production time while meeting operational constraints.

Optimized schedules translate directly into operational benefits: reduced idle time, lower work-in-process inventory, and improved on-time delivery—supporting your continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Capabilities

• Create and manage production schedules with different levels of automation
• Visualize schedules through interactive Gantt charts
• Support multiple users working together in teams
• Share schedule Gantt charts with stakeholders via secure links

Prerequisites & Preparation

Setting up Schantt requires information about your production process. Gathering this data before you start will make configuration faster and more accurate. This section provides a comprehensive checklist and time estimates.

Information Checklist

Use this checklist to prepare before your first session. Items marked Required are needed for basic functionality; Recommended items improve schedule accuracy.

Production Flow (Required)

Equipment (Required)

Products (Required)

Timing Data (Recommended)

Time Investment Estimates

Plan your setup time based on facility complexity:

Who Should Be Involved

Different team members contribute different knowledge:

Preparation Checklist Summary

Before your first session, ensure you have:

• ☐ Production stage list with sequence positions and types (batch/flow)
• ☐ Machine list for each stage (equipment names)
• ☐ Processing parameters for each machine (batch size/cycle time or throughput rate)
• ☐ Product class and product list with units of measure
• ☐ Stage routing for each product class
• ☐ Changeover time estimates (at minimum)
• ☐ 1-2 hours of uninterrupted time for initial setup
• ☐ Access to production manager or process expert

Creating Your Team

When you sign up for Schantt, you can create a Team which serves as your organization's workspace. A team contains all your production data—stages, machines, products, and schedules—completely isolated from other teams.

To create a team:

1. Sign up for an account at the registration page
2. Enter your team name (or leave blank to use your email prefix)
3. Accept the terms and conditions
4. Click Sign Up

Your team will have a unique URL identifier (slug) automatically generated from your team name.

Understanding Subscriptions

Your capabilities in Schantt depend on your plan tier. Each tier determines:

• How many teams you can create
• How many users can join each team
• Resource limits for stages, machines, product classes, products, and schedules

Available Plans

Team Settings

Access your team settings by clicking on your team name in the navigation menu.

Basic Settings

• Team Name: Your organization or workspace name displayed throughout the application
• Team ID (Slug): A unique URL-friendly identifier for your team (no spaces allowed). This appears in all your team's URLs.
• Select Subscription: Assign one of your purchased subscriptions to this team. Only team administrators can change this setting.

Team Preferences

Team preferences control how schedules are displayed in forms and Gantt charts. All team members share these preferences.

Gantt Chart Display Options:

• Initial Zoom: Default zoom level when viewing Gantt charts (Hour, Day, Week, or Month)
• Date Format: How dates are displayed in forms and Gantt charts
• Tasks Group Type: How tasks within a stage are grouped (Standard or Combine)
• Show Columns: Toggle visibility of Quantity, Machine, Start Date, End Date, and Duration columns
• Show Task Order: Display the production sequence number on Gantt chart bars
• Show Detail Box: Enable hover tooltips showing detailed task information

Managing Team Members

Teams support multiple users with role-based access control.

User Roles

Inviting Team Members

1. Navigate to your team's settings page
2. Go to the "Team Members" section
3. Enter the email address of the person you want to invite
4. Select their role (Administrator or Member)
5. Click "Invite"

The invited user will receive an email with a link to join your team. If they don't have a Schantt account, they will be prompted to create one.

Removing Team Members

Administrators can remove team members from the Team Members section. Removed users lose access to all team data immediately.

Switching Between Teams

If you belong to multiple teams (with Premium or Enterprise subscriptions), you can switch between them:

1. Click on your current team name in the navigation menu
2. Select the team you want to switch to from the dropdown
3. You'll be redirected to that team's dashboard

Each team maintains completely separate data—stages, machines, products, and schedules are not shared between teams.

Deleting a Team

Only team administrators can delete a team. To delete:

1. Navigate to team settings
2. Scroll to the danger zone section
3. Confirm the deletion

Understanding the Data Structure

Before creating schedules, you need to configure your production environment. Schantt uses a hierarchical data model to represent your production environment:

Team
├── Stages (production steps in sequence)
├── Machines (equipment at each stage, linked to Stages)
│   └── Machine Downtime (ad-hoc unavailability periods)
├── Calendars
│   ├── Calendar (weekly shift patterns per day)
│   └── Calendar Exceptions (team-wide date overrides)
│   └── Calendar Downtimes (date ranges of machines unavailability)
├── Product Classes (categories with shared characteristics)
│   └── Products (individual items to manufacture)
├── Production Parameters
│   ├── Processing Times / Throughput Rates (per Machine × Product Class)
│   ├── Changeover Times (per Machine × Product Class pair)
│   └── Transfer Times (per Stage pair)
└── Schedules
    ├── Calendar Periods (working calendar per date range)
    └── Schedule Details (individual production tasks)
            

Stages

Stages represent the sequential steps in your production process. Each stage has a unique position number that determines its order in the production flow.

Creating a Stage

1. Navigate to the Stages page from the main menu
2. Click "Create" or use the "+" button
3. Fill in the stage details:
   • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Mixing", "Filling", "Packaging")
   • Description: Optional notes about this stage
   • Position: The order of this stage in your production sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.)
   • Production Type: Choose between Batch or Flow (see below)

Production Types

Examples:

• A mixing tank that processes 500kg batches in 30 minutes → Batch stage
• A filling line running at 1,200 bottles per hour → Flow stage

Machines

Machines are the equipment at each stage that perform the actual production work. Each machine belongs to exactly one stage.

Creating a Machine

1. Navigate to the Machines page from the left navigation menu
2. Click the "Create" button
3. Fill in:
   • Name: Equipment identifier (e.g., "Mixer-01", "Filler-A")
   • Stage: Select which production stage this machine belongs to
   • Description: Optional equipment notes
4. Click "Save" to create the machine

Managing Machine Parameters

After creating a machine, you can configure its production parameters from the machine detail page:

• Processing Times (for Batch stages): Batch size and cycle duration per product class
• Throughput Rates (for Flow stages): Production rate per product class
• Changeover Times: Time required to switch between product classes

Calendar Assignment

Each machine can use a custom working calendar instead of the team default. Set this via the Calendar dropdown in the machine form. Leave blank to inherit the team default. See Calendars for how to define working hours.

Calendars

Schantt's calendar system lets you restrict scheduling to your facility's actual working hours. Instead of scheduling 24/7, you can define calendars (shift patterns), mark holidays, assign a specific calendar to any machine, and block downtimes.

Calendar

A Calendar defines the weekly shift pattern for your facility or a specific machine. Each calendar specifies which days of the week are working days and what hours the shift runs.

• One Calendar per team is designated as the Default Calendar, automatically applied to all new schedules.
• Machines can individually override the default by having a calendar assigned directly.

Creating a Calendar

1. Navigate to Calendars from the main menu
2. Click "Create"
3. Set the name, optional description, and whether it is the team default
4. Configure each day of the week: mark as working or non-working, and set shift start/end times

Machine Calendar Assignment

Each machine can optionally be assigned a specific calendar. When a machine has its own calendar, it overrides the team's default calendar for that machine's tasks. This is configured directly on the Machine detail page:

1. Navigate to Machines → select a machine
2. In the machine form, find the Calendar dropdown
3. Select a calendar or leave blank to use the team default

Common use case: a packaging line that runs an extended shift (06:00–22:00) while mixing equipment only runs a standard shift (08:00–17:00).

Exceptions

Exceptions are team-wide date overrides that apply to all calendars simultaneously. Use them for:

• Holidays: Mark a normally-working date as non-working (factory closure)
• Overtime: Mark a normally-non-working date as working (Saturday overtime)
• Extended shift: Change shift hours for a specific date

Exceptions take precedence over the regular weekly pattern for the specified date, across every calendar in the team.

Creating an Exception

1. Navigate to Calendars → Exceptions
2. Click "Add Exception"
3. Set the date, whether it is a working day, and (if working) the shift hours
4. Optionally add a reason (e.g., "National Holiday", "Q4 overtime")

Downtimes

Downtime blocks a specific time window during which a machine (or all machines) is unavailable. Unlike Calendar Exceptions (which override specific dates in Calendars), downtime is a precise datetime-range event:

• Per-machine downtime: Only that machine is affected
• Factory-wide downtime: Leave machine blank — all machines are affected during that window
• Categories: Maintenance, Breakdown, Cleaning, Other

Downtime periods are also visualized on the Gantt chart.

Creating Downtime

1. Navigate to a Machine detail page → Downtime tab, or use the factory-wide Downtime management page
2. Click "Add"
3. Set start and end datetime, category, and optional reason

Calendar Resolution Order

1. Downtime can make a machine unavailable regardless of calendar.
2. Machine-specific calendar overrides both Schedule Calendar Period and the team default calendar.
3. Matching Schedule Calendar Period applies next.
4. Team default calendar is the fallback.
5. If none exist, schedule is 24/7.

Calendar exceptions apply within calendar-driven steps (2-4) and override the day-of-week pattern for a specific date.

Preparing Calendar Data

Before creating your first schedule, gather:

Product Classes

Product Classes group products with similar characteristics. Products in the same class share the same production routing (which stages they pass through) and similar processing requirements.

Creating a Product Class

1. Navigate to the Product Classes page
2. Click "Create"
3. Fill in:
   • Name: Category name (e.g., "Beverages", "Tablets", "T-Shirts")
   • Description: Optional notes
   • Unit: The unit of measure for products in this class (e.g., "liters", "units", "pieces", "kg")

Setting Up Stage Routing (Required Stage Routing)

After creating a product class, you must specify which stages products in this class will pass through. This is called the Required Stage Routing.

1. On the Product Class detail page, find the "Required Stage Routing" section
2. Add each stage that products in this class should go through
3. Configure partial transfer settings for each stage (see below)

Partial Transfer Settings

For each stage in the routing, you can configure partial transfers:

• Allow Partial Transfer: Enable to allow material to move to the next stage before the current operation completes
• Partial Transfer Quantity: How many units transfer at a time (required if partial transfers are enabled)

When to use partial transfers:

• Flow stages where items can move individually (e.g., filled bottles moving to labeling)
• Batch stages where partial quantities can be released (e.g., cooling tanks releasing product incrementally)

When NOT to use partial transfers:

• Batch stages that must complete fully before any transfer (e.g., fermentation, sterilization)
• "No-wait" processes common in bakeries where timing is critical

Products

Products are the individual items you manufacture. Each product belongs to exactly one product class and inherits its routing and characteristics.

Creating a Product

1. Navigate to the Products page
2. Click "Create"
3. Fill in:
   • Name: Product name (e.g., "Cola 500ml", "Aspirin 100mg", "Blue T-Shirt XL")
   • Description: Optional product notes
   • Product Class: Select the class this product belongs to
   • Color: Choose a display color for Gantt chart visualization

Production Parameters

Production parameters define how long operations take and setup times between products. These are configured per machine for each product class.

Processing Time (Batch Stages)

For batch-type stages, configure:

1. Navigate to the Product Class detail page
2. Find the "Processing Time" section
3. Add entries specifying:
   • Stage: Which batch stage
   • Machine: Which machine at that stage
   • Cycle Duration: Time in minutes to process one batch
   • Batch Size: Number of units per batch

Example:

• Product Class "Beverages" at Stage "Mixing" on Machine "Mixer-01"
• Cycle Duration: 30 minutes
• Batch Size: 500 liters

This means mixing 500 liters of any beverage takes 30 minutes. Mixing 1,000 liters requires 2 batches = 60 minutes.

Throughput Rate (Flow Stages)

For flow-type stages, configure:

1. Navigate to the Product Class detail page
2. Find the "Throughput" section
3. Add entries specifying:
   • Stage: Which flow stage
   • Machine: Which machine at that stage
   • Throughput: Units processed per hour

Example:

• Product Class "Beverages" at Stage "Filling" on Machine "Filler-A"
• Throughput: 1,200 bottles per hour

This means filling 600 bottles takes 30 minutes, 1,200 bottles takes 60 minutes.

Changeover Time

Changeover time is the setup time required when switching from one product class to another on the same machine.

1. Navigate to the Machine detail page (via Stage page)
2. Find the "Changeover Times" section
3. Add entries specifying:
   • From Product Class: What was produced previously
   • To Product Class: What will be produced next
   • Duration: Setup time in minutes

Transfer Time

Transfer time is the time required to move material between stages in your facility. This is a property of your physical layout, not products.

1. Navigate to the Stage detail page
2. Find the "Transfer Times" section
3. Add entries specifying:
   • From Stage: Origin stage
   • To Stage: Destination stage (must be later in sequence)
   • Duration: Transport time in minutes
   • Notes: Optional description (e.g., "Conveyor belt", "Forklift transport")

Example:

• From "Mixing" to "Filling": 15 minutes (pumping through pipes)
• From "Filling" to "Packaging": 5 minutes (conveyor belt)

Configuration Status and Scheduling Readiness

Before creating schedules, verify your configuration is complete. The application provides visual indicators:

Product Class Configuration Status

Each Product Class shows:

• Ready for Scheduling (green badge): All required stages have machine configurations
• Not Ready (yellow badge): Some stages are missing machine configurations

Click "More Details" to see exactly which stage-machine combinations need configuration.

Stage Configuration Status

Each Stage shows:

• Processes X/Y Product Classes: How many product classes can be processed at this stage

Click "More Details" to see which product classes are configured and which need attention.

Troubleshooting Common Setup Issues

This section addresses common problems you may encounter during setup and schedule creation, with step-by-step solutions.

Configuration Issues

Schedule Creation Issues

Manual Mode Issues

Still Having Issues?

If you can't resolve your issue with the guidance above:

• Demo Plan Users: Review the Glossary and Production Scheduling Guide for additional context
• Standard/Premium Users: Contact support via the Contact page with details of the issue
• Enterprise Users: Reach out to your dedicated support contact

Understanding Scheduling Modes

Schantt offers three scheduling modes to accommodate different levels of automation and control:

Creating a Schedule

1. Navigate to the Schedules page
2. Click "Create" and select your preferred mode
3. Fill in the schedule details (varies by mode)
4. Add products to the schedule using the form
5. Click "Save" to generate the schedule

Calendar Periods

Calendar Period assign a Calendar to a specific date range within a schedule. This tells the algorithm which shift hours apply for that portion of the schedule.

• You can define multiple non-overlapping calendar periods, each with a different calendar. Useful for schedules spanning a shift change or a holiday period.
• If no Calendar Periods are defined, the system checks your team's default calendar as a fallback.
• If no default calendar exists either, the schedule runs 24/7.
• Your team's default calendar is shown above the formset — click its name to view its configuration.

Typical setup:

1. Add a single calendar period covering your entire schedule date range
2. Assign your team's default calendar to it
3. The algorithm will now respect shift hours when placing tasks

Auto Mode

You provide:

• Schedule name and description (optional)
• Schedule start date and time
• List of products with quantities (in any order)

The system:

• Determines the optimal production sequence
• Selects the best machine at each stage
• Calculates all start times, end times, and durations
• Creates a complete schedule minimizing total production time

Form fields:

• # (Position): Automatically assigned after optimization
• Product: Select from your configured products
• Quantity: Amount to produce

Semi-Auto Mode

You provide:

• Schedule name and description (optional)
• Schedule start date and time
• Fixed sequence of products with quantities
• Optionally: specific start times for any products in the sequence

The system:

• Preserves your specified sequence (no reordering)
• Enforces any start time constraints you specify
• Selects optimal machines within these constraints
• Calculates timing for all operations

Form fields:

• # (Position): Shows your specified sequence order
• Product: Select product for this position
• Quantity: Amount to produce
• Start Time: (Optional) When this product must start processing

Start Time Constraints:

• Leave blank for automatic timing
• If specified, the product MUST start at exactly that time
• If constraints create conflicts (impossible to achieve), the system will report an error

Manual Mode

You provide everything:

• Schedule name and description (optional)
• Position in production sequence (job number)
• Product selection for each position
• Quantity for each product
• Stage selection (from product's routing)
• Machine selection (from stage's machines)
• Start time and end time for each operation

The system:

• Validates your inputs (routing compatibility, machine availability)
• Stores your exact specifications
• Displays the Gantt chart exactly as you defined it

Form fields:

• Position: Job number in production sequence (you control this)
• Product: Select product
• Quantity: Amount to produce
• Stage: Select from product's required stages
• Machine: Select from stage's compatible machines
• Start: When this operation begins
• End: When this operation ends

Validation:

• End time must be after start time
• Product must be compatible with selected stage (from routing)
• Machine must be at the selected stage

Viewing Schedule Results

After creating or saving a schedule, you'll see:

1. Schedule Summary: Name, mode, start time, duration, products included
2. Schedule Details Table: All operations with products, quantities, stages, machines, and timing
3. Gantt Chart: Visual timeline showing all operations

Gantt Chart Features

• Zoom Controls: View by hour, day, week, or month
• Task Bars: Color-coded by product, showing duration
• Hover Details: Mouse over a bar to see full operation details (if enabled in team preferences)
• Columns: Configurable display of quantity, machine, start/end times, duration
• Calendar components: Non-working periods (nights, weekends, holidays, machine downtime) are visualized on the Gantt chart. These reflect calendar constraints applied during scheduling.

Interpreting Your Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart is your primary tool for understanding and communicating production schedules. This section explains how to read the visual elements and identify patterns that indicate optimization opportunities.

Understanding Visual Elements

Task Bars

Each colored bar represents a single production task (one product at one stage on one machine):

Gaps and Spaces

Empty space between bars provides important information about your schedule:

Overlapping Bars (Different Rows)

Vertical overlap (bars at the same time on different rows) indicates parallel processing:

• Normal and desirable: Multiple machines working simultaneously improves throughput
• Shows good utilization: Idle machines indicate potential for improvement
• Cross-stage overlap: When enabled with partial transfers, stages can process simultaneously

Common Patterns and Their Meaning

Pattern 1: Bottleneck Stage

What it looks like: One stage shows all machines constantly busy with minimal gaps, while other stages have significant idle time.

What it means: This stage is limiting overall throughput. All other stages wait for this one.

Potential actions:

• Add another machine at the bottleneck stage
• Reduce batch sizes to improve flow
• Enable partial transfers to allow downstream stages to start sooner
• Review if processing times are accurate (might be overestimated elsewhere)

Pattern 2: Staircase Pattern

What it looks like: Tasks form a diagonal "staircase" from top-left to bottom-right, with each stage starting after the previous one completes.

What it means: Sequential processing with full transfers—each stage waits for complete material from the previous stage.

Potential actions:

• Consider enabling partial transfers where appropriate
• This pattern is correct for processes requiring full completion (e.g., sterilization)

Pattern 3: Frequent Small Gaps

What it looks like: Many small gaps between tasks on the same machine throughout the schedule.

What it means: Frequent changeovers between different product classes.

Potential actions:

• The algorithm already minimizes this—verify changeover times are accurate
• Consider if product classes can be grouped differently
• Review if some changeover times could be reduced operationally

Pattern 4: One Machine Heavily Loaded, Others Idle

What it looks like: At a multi-machine stage, one machine is constantly busy while others have significant idle time.

What it means: Possible causes include:

• Different machines have significantly different throughput rates
• Changeover optimization favoring one machine
• Product class restrictions limiting which machines can be used

Potential actions:

• Verify processing time/throughput configuration for all machines
• Ensure all product classes are configured for all capable machines

Using Hover Details

When "Show Detail Box" is enabled in Team Preferences, hovering over any task bar displays:

• Product name: Which product this task produces
• Quantity: How many units are being processed
• Stage: Which production stage
• Machine: Which specific machine
• Start time: When processing begins
• End time: When processing completes
• Duration: Total processing time

Adjusting the View

Customize your Gantt chart view for different purposes:

Key Metrics to Review

After creating a schedule, check these metrics in the Schedule Summary:

• Total Duration (Makespan): Time from schedule start to completion of last task. Lower is better.
• Number of Products: Verify all products you entered are included
• Start and End Times: Confirm these align with your operational requirements

Compare these metrics when evaluating different schedules or before/after configuration changes.

Editing Schedules

You can update existing schedules:

1. Navigate to the schedule you want to edit
2. Make your changes in the form
3. Click "Save"

Mode-Specific Behavior:

• Auto/Semi-Auto modes: Changing products, quantities, or constraints triggers re-optimization
• Manual mode: Changes are saved directly without optimization

Basic field updates (name, description, share setting) do not trigger re-optimization in any mode.

Sharing Schedules

You can share a schedule's Gantt chart with people outside your team:

1. Open the schedule you want to share
2. Enable the "Share" checkbox
3. Save the schedule
4. Copy the public Gantt chart URL

Shared schedules:

• Are viewable by anyone with the link (no login required)
• Show only the Gantt chart visualization (not edit capabilities)
• Remain accessible until you disable sharing

Background Processing

For schedules with many products or complex constraints, optimization may take longer. During this time:

1. A progress indicator shows the current status
2. The system processes your schedule in the background
3. You'll see the results when optimization completes

Progress phases:

1. Preparing schedule data
2. Optimizing production sequence (may show improvement percentage)
3. Finalizing results
4. Displaying schedule

Deleting Schedules

To delete a schedule:

1. Open the schedule you want to delete
2. Click the delete button (trash icon)
3. Confirm the deletion

Glossary

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Scheduling Questions

Getting Help

For additional assistance:

• Demo Plan Users: Refer to this Documentation and Guides
• Standard/Premium Users: Email support available
• Enterprise Users: Dedicated support staff

Contact information is available on the Contact page.